Church College of New Zealand (CCNZ) was a private

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Temple View,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, that was operated by the Church Educational System of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). It was closed at the end of the 2009 school year.

History

Construction of CCNZ began in 1952. In 1955, the LDS Church announced that it would construct a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in Hamilton. LDS Church president

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

initially went to New Zealand to downsize the building programme. After visiting the project, McKay was so impressed with what he saw and felt he decided to add two more buildings to the school's construction. These buildings were later named the David O. McKay Auditorium and the Matthew Cowley Administration Building. CCNZ and the New Zealand Temple were built on the same 35

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

site, in what later became known as Temple View, a suburb of Hamilton. Both facilities were built entirely by LDS Church volunteer labour

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

. CCNZ was dedicated and formally opened on 26 April 1958 by McKay. Clifton D. Boyack was the school's first principal.

Construction

Foundations were laid for CCNZ in the early 1950s. The first visit to a property in the area occurred in 1950. The

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...

, Gordon C.Young, drove out to the area, and when first seeing the site as he drove over a nearby hill where he pictured in his mind white buildings on the property and immediately felt this was the place the LDS Church was to build a school. He arranged to acquire the property the same day. He specifically stated many times that he did not ever see the temple on the property in vision because he had only been given the assignment to find property and also that only the LDS Church president could propose sites for a new temple. Church representatives from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

came and inspected the property, and members of the church from all over New Zealand slowly moved into the area to work as labor missionaries on the project. Before work commenced on the school, the surrounding property began to be developed, including accommodations for the people who came to work were built, and a social infrastructure was established. Initially, there were only a few people at the site. Much of the surrounding land was

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

, and it took some ingenuity to make the land agriculturally productive. The temple foundations were put in place after McKay selected the site at a later date Many of the existing buildings were used as temporary quarters for those participating in construction and administration. Cottages were built to house the building missionaries when they arrived. Dormitory-type accommodations were provided for the single men. Food was sent in from the church members in other parts of the country, and some of it was grown locally. A stream ran across the property behind the men's accommodation and behind their eating house. In the winters it always flooded so the men's accommodation and some of the cottages were usually semi-submerged in water at the time. A young child drowned in the stream so for safety concrete piping was brought in for protection, and to seal the stream. The concrete bricks for the school buildings were manufactured locally by a special crew of building missionaries. There were specialist plumbing, electrical, painting, welding, mechanic and other crews for the construction of the many facilities. Supervisors for these crews were called from the U.S. They came with their families, and helped greatly with the overall communal life of the building missionaries. The building missionaries were exposed to the way the LDS Church did things in the U.S., and this helped facilitate the transition of the LDS Church in New Zealand from its

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

status to the stake and

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system.

Notable alumni

Enrollment

The school taught students in New Zealand's educational years nine through thirteen (13- to 18-year-olds). While in operation there were approximately 700 students and 100 faculty/staff members, until its last year, when the student body was 120 students and 50 staff members. A modest tuition was charged but the school is heavily subsidized by the LDS Church. In 2009, approximately 10% of

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

high school students in New Zealand attended Church College, with some attending the school away from home as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

Closure

On 29 June 2006, LDS Church leaders announced that CCNZ would cease accepting new students in 2007 and would close at the end of the 2009 school year; in discussing its decision, a church policy to close its private secondary schools when the public school system is able to offer "quality education" was cited.

Proposed plans

After it was closed, LDS Church leaders had planned to demolish parts of the school site and convert it into farmland. These plans were challenged by some of the Temple View community and CCNZ alumni. Robert Cammock, president of the Temple View Heritage Society, proposed that the Temple View community should decide the future of the school. The LDS Church has now indicated that demolition of key buildings is no longer on the agenda and has formally withdrawn its application from the local city council. It has indicated that many more buildings may be saved and several options are now being investigated for future usage. Although some historic buildings were repurposed, much of the college was demolished in 2018 and it was planned to replace it with about 200 houses.

Notes

References

* {{Authority control 1958 establishments in New Zealand Boarding schools in New Zealand Church Educational System Christian schools in New Zealand Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Defunct schools in New Zealand Educational institutions disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1958 Latter Day Saint schools Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Secondary schools in Hamilton, New Zealand The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand Demolished buildings and structures in New Zealand Buildings and structures demolished in 2018